Stoudemire is the New York Knicks' power forward and $100 million man-about-town. Unlike a lot of big-time athletes who play for big-city franchises but retreat each night to the palatial isolation of gated suburbs, 28-year-old Stoudemire is living the dream in grand New York style.

Off-court, he pals around with Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour at fashion shows, and he launched a line of athletic-inspired women's wear with designer Rachel Roy earlier this fall. And then there's his West Village penthouse, which has a river-view wraparound terrace, a barber's chair for at-home haircuts, and even a recording studio.

Hardy is often on hand to keep the revolving dinner party going. But he also makes frequent trips down to Miami, where he still runs a successful catering company. He's been a chef to the stars since 2002, when, as an 18-year-old culinary student in Miami, he bluffed his way into a catering job (he enlisted his mother as bartender since he wasn't technically old enough to buy alcohol) and used the party proceeds to print up business cards that confidently read "Chef to the Stars."

Stoudemire and Hardy met three years ago. Hardy had just made dinner for a client and was packing up when Stoudemire called him. He was looking for someone to cook for him and his friends before they went out to a club. As in: That night. Immediately. "I looked at my watch. It was almost midnight," Hardy recalls. "I thought, Well, okay. I did a little shopping and made them a grand feast: grilled lobster tails, steaks, Yukon-garlic mash, and chocolate soufflé."

"I remember thinking, We may have a winner here, " Stoudemire says, laughing. Not long after, Hardy packed up and moved to New York to work with Stoudemire full-time.

But it's not all lobster tails and midnight feasts for friends. Last summer, Amar'e announced to Hardy that he was interested in learning more about a kosher diet. A recent trip to Israel had strengthened Stoudemire's spiritual feelings—and focused his ideas about diet. "I have a Hebrew background, and I read the Torah, which really explains the proper way to eat. I spent a week in Israel, just studying," Stoudemire says. "From an athletic standpoint, I figure if you want to have a strong body, why not eat kosher?"

Hardy was way ahead of him: "I told him the story about when I interviewed with a kosher catering company." They'd asked Hardy to make matzo ball soup, which he'd never done. "I just kept thinking to myself, This is like making hush puppies. When I served it, the rabbi grabbed the matzo ball out of the soup with his hands and threw it against the wall to 'test' it. It busted up everywhere. 'Perfect,' he said. 'You're hired.'"

Now Hardy buys kosher beef and chicken and avoids pork—though there are allowances. "If Amar'e had a good game, he might want crab legs, or maybe lobster macaroni and cheese."

One thing that never varies is Stoudemire's commitment to eating healthfully during the week and living it up a bit on weekends. When he was growing up in Florida, he recalls, "my aunt always cooked a huge meal on Sundays. I want to keep that tradition alive here. So on Sundays, Chef Max lays it all out, and a bunch of friends come over. We call it Soul Food Sundays."

This particular evening, Hardy is making cornmeal-dusted catfish with tomato grits and sweet potato waffles with buttermilk fried chicken. In the kitchen, there's a menorah and a Jimi Hendrix print that reads "Craziness Is like Heaven."

As the guests arrive, the apartment is flooded with sun from all angles. Stoudemire's friends are as varied a lot as his off-court interests. "We met through private jets," says one of the guests, Jesse Itzler, an entrepreneur who is involved with Stoudemire in a line of edible energy strips called Sheets. (In a previous life as a jingle writer, Itzler wrote the Knicks anthem, "Go, New York, Go!") Itzler introduces his wife, Sara Blakely, the inventor of Spanx. Wayne Pinkney, who works with Stoudemire at Nike, is praising Hardy's desserts. "There was one with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in it," he says. "I've crashed over here on the couch many a night after eating something like that.” The rapper Fabolous is standing by the pool table. "I'm fond of his work," he says of Hardy's culinary prowess. Fabolous also respects Stoudemire's interest in eating well: "I pig out all the time, but I plan to trend down the fried stuff when I get older. You gotta chisel at it, though. You can't go cold turkey on fried chicken, you know?"

Between courses, Stoudemire admits that he plays around in the kitchen in the off-season. Hardy occasionally teaches him tricks. "It's fun to cook, man. And it's intriguing to the ladies," he adds, laughing. "You score a few more 'cool points' that way."

As the plates are cleared, everyone moves up to the roof terrace to catch the last bit of sunlight. Jerry Bias, the owner of Sugarleaf Vineyards in Virginia, pours a glass of his winery's dessert wine and makes a toast: "Let's raise a glass to Amar'e and Chef Max: May the best days of your past be the worst days of your future."

To which we'd only add: May all of your Sundays be healthy, happy Soul Food Sundays.